THE NERITIC ZONE— LIFE IN SHALLOW WATER 437 



shallow water that some allusion to them is necessary here. 

 Among forms which still make considerable use of the land, 

 other than for nesting purposes, the Gulls {Larid^) may be 

 particularly mentioned, and many others have been dealt with 

 in earlier sections, while the Penguins [Impetmes) are as neritic 

 as it is possible for members of the class to be. 



Neritic Reptiles. — The only case requiring mention is that 

 presented by the Sea- Lizard [Ambiyrhynchus cristatus), which 

 spends a large part of its time feeding on the sea-weeds that 

 grow in the shallow water. 



Neritic Fishes [Pisces). — These are immensely numerous, and 

 many of them have been dealt with in other sections. The 

 majority of food-fishes, for instance, are neritic, though those of 

 the herring and mackerel kind furnish important exceptions, yet 

 many of these pelagic species favour the zone of shallow water 

 for spawning purposes. The beautiful forms which abound in 

 the neighbourhood of coral-reefs would alone require considerable 

 space to do them justice. The effect produced upon the imagi- 

 nation by the coral-fauna is vividly summarized by Alcock (in 

 A Naturalist in Indiait Seas) in the following impressionist 

 sentences: — "Looking back after thirteen years, I can only 

 remember visions of fairy groves and glades, lit by a strange 

 ethereal light, half moon half sun, where, among Christmas-trees 

 of purple and blue and golden green, fishes painted like butter- 

 flies flitted and hovered". Those who desire to get some notion 

 of the colour-schemes presented by such a fauna are referred to 

 the magnificent plates in Saville Kent's Great Barrier ReeJ of 

 Australia. There are naturally a large number of interesting 

 adaptations to be found among reef-animals, one of which has 

 elsewhere been described (see p. 171). An interesting protective 

 arrangement is found in a Coral- Fish {Epinephehis hexagonatus, 

 fig. 1292) common in the Andaman Islands. The dark polygonal 

 patches on its skin harmonize very well with the particular corals 

 among which it feeds. A modification of different kind is pre- 

 sented by the Parrot- Fishes [Scants), which owe their name to 

 the strong curved jaws that enable them to browse upon the 

 branches of various sorts of coral. 



Many British fishes of no economic value haunt the neighbour- 

 hood of the coast, or may be seen in tidal pools. Such are some 

 of the Gobies {Gobiidce), which include the beautiful Dragonets 



Vol, IV. 123 



